Two years to go: London 2012

Twenty-four months.  Seven hundred thirty days.  Seventeen thousand, five hundred twenty hours.

Whichever way you break it down, two years from today the world’s best athletes will descend upon England.  And on July 27, 2012, a few billion people will turn their attention to London for the 2012 Olympic Games.

July 27 through August 12, 2012 will be a time for more than 200 nations to put aside their struggles and make their main focus cheering on their nation’s athletes to bring home gold.  It is a time to watch the artistry, power, precision, skill, grace, speed and excellence which only Olympians exhibit.

 The Significance

The London 2012 Olympic Games are also known as the Games of the XXX Olympiad, and signify the 30^th Olympic Games to be held since the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896.

The 2012 Games will also mark the first time an Olympic host city, summer or winter, has held the Games three times.  In 1908, London welcomed the Olympic Games for the first time when they played host to the Games of the IV Olympiad.  Exactly 40 years later, London became only the second city to host two Olympic Games when they held the Games of the XIV Olympiad in 1948.

Though the city has already hosted two Olympic Games, when London won the bid in 2005, it was the first time the European city had actually won the right to host the Games from the start and felt prepared to do so. 

The 1908 Olympic Games were originally scheduled to be held in Rome until Mount Vesuvius erupted in 1906.  But when funds went towards rebuilding the city of Naples, London was selected as the new host city.

In 1939, London was chosen to host the 1944 Olympic Games, which were slated to be an historic celebration for the entire world after the 1940 Games were cancelled due to World War II.  But yet again, World War II got in the way and the Games were cancelled.  Britain almost handed the 1948 Olympic Games to the United States due to financial woes and rationing problems that the nation suffered as a result of the war.  But when King George realized the Olympic Games were an opportunity to restore the city, London decided to try to host the Games.  The International Olympic Committee (IOC) finally awarded the Games to London in 1946, which gave them two years to prepare.

 

The Progress

With only two years to prepare for the 1948 Olympic Games, London managed to rise to the challenge and host a successful Games.  This time around, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) has already been hard at work for five years.

At the beginning of this month, the International Olympic Committee’s Coordination Commission took its sixth visit to London since 2005, to observe LOCOG’s progress two years out from the start of the Games.

“The staff at LOCOG is top class,” said IOC Coordination Commission Chairman Denis Oswald.  “They have done an exemplary job so far, but now is not the time for complacency; they need to continue working diligently and to focus on the details of the project.”

The Coordination Commission was impressed with the great advances LOCOG has made in the construction of their venues, specifically with the Olympic Park.  However, the Commission said the next 18 months will be the most telling for LOCOG.  Over the next year and a half, they will run numerous tests to determine if everything is in place and up to par.  Test events will help LOCOG determine where improvements can be made to ensure a smooth Games.

“With two years to go, our focus is very much on working through the details of delivering this large and complex project,” said LOCOG Chairman Sebastian Coe.  “There will of course be challenges ahead, but…the strength of this team will help us work through any challenges and deliver Olympic Games we will all be proud of in 2012.”

 

The Venues

The wide range of venues being used will make the 2012 Games a true celebration of the history and culture that London has to offer, in addition to showing off an eco-friendly, more modern London.  The venues are split up into Olympic Park venues, London venues, and out-of-London venues.

In 2006, the Olympic Park was nothing more than 500 acres of contaminated land in east London.  Four years later, the Olympic Park is ready to provide a green backdrop for the Games and a new green space for people and animals to enjoy past 2012.  More than 300,000 plants will be planted in the Park, and 2,000 British-grown trees have already been hand-selected to form the roots of the Park’s green spaces.

Among the Park’s brand new venues are:

Aquatics Centre -  a gateway to the Olympic Park as more than two-thirds of spectators are expected to enter the Park over a bridge which runs across the top of the venue

Basketball Arena - one of the largest temporary venues to be built for any Games 

Handball Arena - which features more than 3,000 sq. meters of recycled copper cladding

Hockey Centre - which will have two separate pitches for different size crowds

Olympic Stadium - set to have a capacity of 80,000 during the Games

VeloPark - featuring a glass wall that will allow people outside the venue to see the action inside.

All of these venues are due to be completed in 2011.

The London venues will exhibit an historic London in a modern interpretation.  Well-known indoor venues will be viewed in a new light as Earls Court holds the volleyball competition; North Greenwich Arena hosts artistic gymnastics, trampoline and basketball; Wembley Arena is transformed into a multipurpose venue for badminton and rhythmic gymnastics, and the versatile exhibition space in ExCel will be home to boxing, fencing, judo, table tennis, taekwondo, weightlifting and wrestling.

The 2012 Games will also bring new life to some of London’s famed outside venues.  Horse Guards Parade (that’s right – the political center of the U.K.) will be transformed into a beach volleyball arena, while Greenwich Park and Hyde Park play host to the equestrian and triathlon events, respectively.  Lord’s Cricket Ground will try out a new sport – archery, and Regent’s Park will be swarmed by road cyclists.  Classic venues such as Wimbledon, Wembley Stadium, and The Royal Artillery Baracks will remain true to their form by hosting tennis, soccer and shooting.

These Games will make use of nine venues outside of London including Eton Dorney (rowing), Hadleigh Farm (mountain biking), Lee Valley White Water Centre (canoe), Weymouth and Portland (sailing), as well as Millennium Stadium, Old Trafford, St. James’ Park, the City of Coventry Stadium, and Hampden Park for soccer matches.

 

The Sports

The Games of the XXX Olympiad will be the first Games since the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games to feature less than the IOC’s maximum of 28 sports.  Instead, only 26 sports will be contested at these Games.

The IOC voted to drop baseball and softball from the 2012 Olympic program two days after London was awarded the Games.  The IOC later held a vote on whether to replace them with five new sports up for consideration: karate, squash, roller sports, rugby sevens, and golf.  Karate and squash were the two final nominees, but neither received enough votes for the required two-thirds majority.  Four years later, the IOC voted golf and rugby sevens to join the Olympic program for the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games.

Although there are no new sports being added for 2012, these Games will see the addition of a few new disciplines to three existing sports. 

For the first time in history, women’s boxing will be contested at the Olympic Games.  In their Olympic debut, women will compete in three weight divisions, while men will compete in 10 instead of the usual 11 weight divisions.

As requested by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the International Olympic Committee approved the inclusion of tennis mixed doubles in these Games.  Tennis mixed doubles will not increase the number of athletes though, so one might see a Williams sister (Serena or Venus) partnering up with Andy Roddick for Olympic gold. 

The London 2012 Games will be stirring things up in the world of cycling as well.  The number of women’s track cycling events will increase from three to five, while the men’s events will decrease from seven to five.  For the women, individual pursuit and points races have been removed from the program, while team sprint, team pursuit, keirin, and Omnium will be added in London.  On the men’s program, individual pursuit and points races, as well as Madison have been removed for London, while Omnium is added for the men as well.

These changes reflect the IOC’s commitment to increase women’s participation in the Olympic Games, and its desire to continually refresh the Olympic program.

 

 Team USA

Following a record-setting performance in Beijing where Team USA walked away with 110 medals, approximately 600 of our nation’s best athletes will fly to London in 2012 with hopes of a repeat performance.

Since Beijing, Team USA’s Olympic veterans have been hard at work continuing to train for their goals of individual and team glory, while countless newcomers continue to sprout up and prove themselves as worthy Olympic hopefuls.

“The two-year countdown to London is a significant milestone event as it clearly indicates that the time is drawing nearer for the National Governing Bodies (NGBs) and athlete hopefuls as they now look to begin refining their preparations and training,” said Mike English, USOC Chief of Sport Performance. “We have the confidence in knowing that London will host a fantastic competition with spectacular backdrops that athletes and fans around the world will thoroughly enjoy. The USOC, NGBs and U.S. athletes are preparing for the significant task ahead and Team USA will be ready to compete fiercely.”

In celebration of the two-year out milestone, TeamUSA.org is launching a series of stories profiling 12 athletes or teams to watch for in 2012.  The featured athletes are 11-time Olympic medalist swimmer Natalie Coughlin, two-time Olympic gold medalist taekwondo athlete Steven Lopez, two-time Olympic gold medalist fencer Mariel Zagunis, Olympic gold medalist soccer player Abby Wambach, silver and bronze Olympic medalist gymnast Jonathan Horton, three-time Olympic medalist water polo player Brenda Villa, #1-ranked hurdler in the world Lolo Jones, Olympic gold medalist beach volleyball players Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser, Olympic gold medalist sailor Anna Tunnicliffe, Olympic gold and silver medalist shooter Matt Emmons, diving World Championships silver medalist David Boudia, and two-time Olympic gold medalists from the Women's Basketball Team.  The series will kick off tomorrow with Coughlin.

As per Team USA’s motto, “With a world before us, with a nation behind us, and within us all…” amazing awaits two years from today at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

 

 

 

Tags: Abby Wambach, Anna Tunnicliffe, Athens 2004 Olympic Games, basketball, beach volleyball, Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, Brandon Penny, Brenda Villa, City of Coventry Stadium, David Boudia , Denis Oswald, Diana Taurasi, Diving, Earls Court, Eton Dorney, ExCel, Fencing, Games of the XXX Olympiad, Greenwich Park, Gymnastics, Hadleigh Farm, Hampden Park, Horse Guards Parade, Hyde Park, International Olympic Committee, Jonathan Horton, Lee Valley White Water Centre, LOCOG, Lolo Jones, London 1908 Olympic Games, London 1948 Olympic Games, London 2012, London 2012 Olympic Games, London Games, London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games, Lord's Cricket Ground, Mariel Zagunis, Matt Emmons, Mike English, Millenium Stadium, Natalie Coughlin, North Greenwich Arena, Old Trafford, Olympic Park, Phil Dalhausser , Regents Park, Royal Artillery Baracks, sailing, Sebastian Coe, shooting, Soccer, St. James' Park, Steven Lopez, Sue Bird, swimming, Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, Taekwondo, Tamika Catchings, Team USA, tennis mixed doubles, Todd Rogers, Track & Field, Track and Field, track cycling, Volleyball, Water Polo, Wembley Arena, Wembley Stadium, Weymouth and Portland, Wimbledon, women's boxing